Wednesday, November 10, 2010

I spent August savoring every second of my remaining maternity leave then most of September and October pumping, so I've had basically nil time for blogging but I'VE MISSED IT. So I'm sneaking back to say "Hi!" and "I've missed you guys!" and "I'm going to try my hardest to keep this old blog updated (or, as updated as my new 9pm bedtime will allow.)"

As 2010 is racing towards the finish line, I took a look at my neglected 2010 list and realized I've actually gotten quite a few major bits checked off:

We took Rhys to the Griffith Observatory TWICE! Once on the last day of my maternity leave:

. . . and once just this past weekend!:

We found Rhys the perfect Halloween costume. Three times. He was a dragon, as I anticipated:

Then he was a giraffe, like his beloved Sophie:

And finally, he was everyone's favorite Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Vader, complete with helmet and light saber teether:

I've also, miraculously, lost the baby weight. All 48lbs of it. And I'll fully admit to eating cheesecake and entire boxes of crackers whilst not working out. If I'd known how many calories breastfeeding burns I'd have taken it up years ago, just as a hobby.

And about that breastfeeding . . . I'm sort of obsessed with it. Rhys and I had a rough start and in an effort to pinpoint exactly why we had the difficulties we did, I did a lot of reading. I found myself getting excited about the things I was learning, the same way I'd been excited about learning in college. It was exhilarating, so I went with it . . . and now I'm about 3/4 of the way through a Lactation Educator/Counselor program via UCSD online. I would love for this to be a career move. I can't say for sure that it will be, and I'm ok with that. At the very least I'm hoping I'll be able to help out my girlfriends and sisters in law as they become mothers.

I have managed to keep Rhys exclusively breastfed after my return to work . . . I've pumped my ass off, you guys. I work really hard at it, and I'm proud of us for sticking to our guns.

Rhys has started eating solids. Or, let me rephrase: he has started "eating" "solids". I make him little bits of apple, sweet potato, squash, pear, sometimes cereal, all mixed with lots of breastmilk. He plays with the spoon, grabs for the bowl, and all in all manages to swallow maybe a thimble full of food at each dinnertime feeding.

It is ridiculous and adorable:

Rhys sits. It started about three weeks ago with him sitting like someone who'd had lots of tequila. Then yesterday, like magic, he started sitting with better posture than I have. Sitting for 30 minutes at a time and playing on his own. Like a big boy, all of the sudden!

2012 List

Things to do with Meyers
1. Color
2. Blow Bubbles
3. Play Hide-and-Seek
4. Peek-a-Boo
5. Play Chase
6. Do Finger-plays
7. Sing a song
8. Collect rocks in a basket
9. Make an obstacle course out of cushions and/or furniture
10. Make a fort out of cushions and sheets
11. Go for a Walk
12. Make a Car out of a Box
13. Read a book
14. Go to the park
15. Finger-paint
16. Play with Play-Dough
17. Toss Bean bags into a Bucket
18. Play the shell and pea game
19. Dance to music
20. Download games for toddlers from the Internet
21. Practice putting things in and taking things out of boxes and bags
22. Make a temporary slide out of a table leaf and your couch
23. Roll a ball back and forth on the floor
24. Scoop dirt or sand into a child's bucket (or use a serving spoon and bowl)
25. Practice climbing by stacking boxes on top of each other
26. Put on a puppet show
27. Go fishing with a yard stick and yarn
28. Make a Horseshoe game
29. Make a Shape Puzzle
30. Play paper basketball
31. Run through a Sprinkler
32. Play with a bucket of water and a sponge
33. Make a Drum out of an oatmeal box
34. Play with a kazoo
35. Wash windows together
36. Bang on Pots and Pans with a spoon
37. Brush each other's teeth
38. Play dress-up with stuffed animals and your child's clothes
39. Stack canned or boxed food on top of each other
40. Let child stack mixing bowls inside each other
41. Make a playhouse out of a large box
42. Let child play with a sticker sheet (make sure your child doesn't eat them!)
43. Put stickers on fingers for finger puppets
44. Play a musical instrument together- i.e.recorder, piano, etc.
45. Go on a Smelling Hunt
46. Frost Cookies
47. Plant a flower or vegetable plant together
48. Roll a tennis ball into an empty trash can or bucket
49. Draw on a mirror with dry-erase markers
50. Play hide and seek together- trying to find a stuffed animal or other object
51. Have a splash party together in the bathtub
52. Put a leash on a stuffed animal and walk around the house
53. Record each other on a tape recorder (great for scrapbooks or journals!)
54. Make and try on paper hats
55. Give a piggy-back ride
56. Play "Horsey"
57. Talk into an electric fan (it distorts your voice)
58. Play tug-of-war with a blanket
59. Collect flowers (felt, artificial, real...)
60. Make a camera and go on a Safari
61. Play games with frozen juice lids
62. Disconnect your phone and pretend to make phone calls to relatives
63. Leave your phone connected and really make phone calls to relatives- let your child talk too
64. String large beads onto or along a shoelace
65. Squirt each other with squirt bottles
66. Glue shapes onto paper
67. Make sock puppets
68. Make paper puppets
69. Fill an old purse with toys
70. Use a paper towel tube as a megaphone
71. Make binoculars and go "Bird Watching" or "Stuffed Animal Watching"
72. Put snacks in different fun containers (paper sacks, empty canisters, etc.)
73. Act out a story from a book
74. Walk on a balance beam- use a 2x4 placed on the ground
75. Draw with chalk on the sidewalk
76. Sketch an outline of your child on the sidewalk or paper with chalk
77. Paint child's palms with tempura paint and blot on paper. Makes a great card for loved ones!
78. Put lipstick on child and kiss a mirror
79. Make a puddle on cement and splash barefoot in it
80. Let child decorate and eat an open peanut butter sandwich
81. Make a toilet paper barricade for child to go under, over, or through
82. Do the Hokey Pokey
83. Make a super-hero costume out of household items
84. Do Knee-Bouncing Rhymes
85. Play "Red Light, Green Light" saying "Go" and "Stop"
86. Make a shoe-box train for stuffed animals
87. Make a pillow pile to jump on (keep it clear from any hard surfaces, including walls!)
88. Make an easy puzzle with felt and Velcro
89. Make bracelets or collars for stuffed animals out of pipe cleaners and jingle bells
90. Learn numbers from a deck of cards
91. Play the matching game with a deck of cards
92. Make a domino chain
93. Have a picnic in the park, backyard, or living room!
94. Play dress up in Mommy or Daddy's clothes
95. Make a tin cup telephone and talk to each other in it
96. Make a nature collage
97. Mirror each other
98. Make a "Mummy Mommy" with toilet paper
99. Make a tape recording of short music selections and instructions to move in different ways
100. Make and walk along a toilet paper trail
101. TAKE A NAP!Other Items
102) Read six books
ONETWOTHREEFOURFIVESIX
103) Read 10 books per week to Rhys
104) $30 per month clothing/makeup budget
105) Project 366
106) Learn to use my 10 20
107) Post once per week
108) Make, photo and list once every two weeks
109) Perfect mini light necklace bokeh setup
110) Monthly organization of Rhys' toys, my car, my closet, my bathroom/makeup